Flight Blog

Many of us have summer projects involving paint. Paint the house. Paint the kitchen. The deck. The bathroom. The kid's room. The runway ...

Yes, every summer we paint the runways. No nice mauve or baby blue — we go strictly by the book: black, yellow, white. And we don't stop with the runways — we do the taxiways, the tarmacs, and any other piece of pavement that requires it.

Painting at the airport can be tricky at times: the painting machines are notoriously fussy; the summer heat drives pavement temperatures to well over a hundred degrees; sometimes you have to quit painting in a hurry and let an expected flight land. And then there's the matter of neatness. If everything isn't perfect the Federal Aviation Administration can ding us during our annual safety inspection.

We thought you might like to have a behind the scenes peak at our annual painting ritual ...

The first thing you have to do is close the runway that needs painting. Among other things it requires hauling a big X to each end of the runway. The Xs have bright lights mounted to them.

Approaching pilots will see them and know that the runway is closed. The photo gives an idea of how big the painting project is. The distance from the X to the other end of the runway (in the background) is approximately 7,000 feet. And all those pavement markings you see have to be repainted.

As mentioned earlier, painting machines are fussy; sometimes they work and sometimes they don't. Nozzles get clogged. Air pressure on the lines can go south in a heart beat. Alignment mechanisms go askew and suddenly you've painted a crooked line.

The job of keeping things on the straight and narrow falls on the backs of the Airfield Maintenance team. In the photo on the left Kevin Rhoten (L) and David Chamberlin (R) discuss the latest round of orneriness from the painting machine. That tangle of tubes shoot three colors of paint, plus tiny glass beads. The beads make the paint reflective at night.

The painting machine is mounted on the back of a small flatbed truck. The arrangement includes barrels of paint, beads, a generator to run an air compressor (that clanks all the time), and just enough room for the an operator. In the photo on the right-below David Chamberlin makes sure the paint goes where it's supposed to.

A bright, shiny Airbus A319 swooped into Springfield today (Tuesday) as it ended one leg of its first Phoenix-Springfield run. We don't see many Airbus at SGF so it was a special occasion. The 319 is part of Allegiant's plan to grow its fleet, while maintaining its low-cost business structure. That low-cost structure translates into low fares for Allegiant customers.

Allegiant started its business by buying used MD-80 airplanes. While other airlines were getting rid of 80s Allegiant was picking them up for a song a dance. From Allegiant's point-of-view, 80s made perfect sense: they were (and are) solid, reliable aircraft that were cheap to buy. But they do have their downside ...

80's are getting older; they require more maintenance. On long haul flights 80s need lots of runway for takeoff. They're noisy. They aren't very fuel efficient. The 319 addresses these deficiencies with flair. Here's an example ...

In its 2012 annual report Allegiant says this about the 319's fuel consumption: "Our 156 seat A-319 burns over 200 gallons less per hour of operation than our 166-seat MD-80."

Needless to say that's a BIG SAVINGS!

The 319 is also quiter; it can fly twice a far as an 80; it needs less runway for takeoff. And, like the 80, 319s are now showing up on the used airplane market for a fraction of the cost of a new airplane.

Allegiant says it plans to add 16 of them to the fleet in the near future. Allegiant sums it up this way: "We believe these Airbus aircraft will allow for low aircraft ownership costs consistent with our business model."

In the past few weeks we’ve been asked several times if airlines are charging lower fares in Springfield due to the presence of Southwest Airlines at the Branson airport (the airline began service there in March).

The people asking have usually just checked out fares online and noticed what they perceive as a drop in Springfield fares. Well, they’re right — Springfield fares are lower. But here’s the thing: fares are always lower in the first quarter, and part of the second quarter.

Here’s what’s going on …

Airlines always lower fares the first four months of the year. It’s this way across the country; it is not unique to Springfield. Why lower fares? The first quarter is the slowest time of the year for air travel. To stimulate sales airlines always have first quarter fare sales.

So first quarter fare sales were part of the equation, but this year there’s another factor at work: the pending merger of American Airlines and US Airways.

The merger announcement came in early February. Within a couple of weeks American became very aggressive in its domestic and international fare sales. Before the merger I received maybe one American sale announcement a month via email. Now I get three or four a week.

This sudden aggressiveness by American has raised eyebrows in the aviation world. Some in the industry (myself included) think the airline is positioning itself for that time when the merger with US Airways becomes a done deal. The combined airline (which will keep the American name) will have three main competitors: Delta, Southwest, and United. By offering aggresive fares now the hope may be that the public will begin considering the merged American a low fare leader.

So here’s where we stand: air fares are always lower in the first four months of the year. And they may have been knocked a notch lower this year by American’s aggressive sales. So, bottom line, there’s no way to know if the presence of Southwest at Branson has lowered fares in the market. All that being said, it doesn’t mean that we won’t ever be able to tell — it’s just too early to tell.

Here’s why ...

The Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS) gathers airline fare data every quarter. Publication of the data lags by two quarters. That means fare data for the first quarter won’t be available until the third quarter. We have to wait until then to know if Springfield fares were lower in the first quarter (when compared to the first quarter of the year before).

As for the question of Southwest’s impact on fares … I’d want to have four or five quarters worth of fare data before making a judgment. It would be great if Springfield fares do go down, but right now it’s just too early to know.

Missouri Senator Clair McCaskill says she's going to introduce a bill that will force the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to allow the use of electronic devices on airplanes — from take off to landing. Read the rest of the story from Politico.

Couple of things to talk about today; let’s begin with new policy from the TSA…

Beginning April 25 you’ll be able to carry most pocket knives onboard a commercial airline flights (as long as the blade is less than 2.36 inches long). To that you can add billiard cues, toy bats, hockey sticks, golf clubs (limit two, yes "two"), and several other items. The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) made the announcement yesterday. You can see the TSA announcement here.

I suspect most fliers will welcome the changes — but not everyone. Apparently TSA didn't consult with one of its most important stakeholders: flight attendants. The Association of Professional Flight Attendants put out a blistering press release. Here’s part of what it says:

“The APFA and our colleagues at other Flight Attendant unions have enjoyed a close working relationship with TSA since its inception,” said APFA President Laura Glading. “That’s why I’m a little puzzled that such a momentous decision would be made without consulting us. In addition to being industry stakeholders, first responders, and September 11th victims, Flight Attendants are a resource. Nobody knows what it takes to keep passengers safe better than we do.” While the APFA welcomes the periodic review of items banned from being carried on the airplane, it categorically rejects a proposal to allow knives of any kind in the cabin. Additionally, today’s announcement includes relaxing restrictions of such large items as hockey sticks, golf clubs, and ski poles, a policy which could lead to a more stressful and potentially dangerous environment for air travelers and employees.

So what gives? Why change the rules? I think the TSA's thought process has evolved since 9/11. There's been the realization that if someone wants to take over an airplane with a little pocket knife, or a golf club, the passengers will put an end to it real quick. The same can't be said for bombs. TSA has all but said that it will spend more time screening for explosives.

Let's move on to the Big Budget Battle in Washington: sequestration.

If the sequestration fight continues for long it will likely impact our airport’s control tower.

Earlier this week the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) told us that it would drop the overnight shift at the Springfield tower beginning October 1. That means the tower won’t be staffed between midnight and 5:00 am. That five hour period is the slowest part of the 24-hour day at our airport; on average there might be six takeoffs and landings. Those flights will still be able to fly but the pilots will have to coordinate all movement amongst themselves using a common radio frequency.

While we don’t like the reduction in service we’re thankful that budget cuts apparently won’t affect tower staffing during the hours when the commercial airlines land and take-off. Other Missouri airports aren’t so lucky…

The FAA says the control towers will close at the airports in Columbia, Jefferson City, Joplin, Branson, and St. Joseph. We’re hearing through backchannels that the closures will happen sooner, rather than later.

Three of those airports have commercial airservice. The closing of their control towers begs the question: will the airlines fly to an airport that doesn't have air traffic control?